Andrew Bynum Still a Month from Returning

Andrew Bynum’s return from a knee injury might not be until close to the end of the regular season, Coach Phil Jackson suggested Friday.

"That’s still perhaps a month away, maybe, whatever," he said when asked about the team adapting to Bynum’s return. "I can’t even put a date on it. It’s just too early to think of it like that."

The Lakers‘ last regular-season game is April 15 against Sacramento. Their first playoff game will be either April 19 or 20.

Bynum could begin jogging on a treadmill next week, but Jackson already sensed a challenging adjustment period when the 20-year-old returned to the court, particularly with Pau Gasol now in the mix.

"Very difficult, especially when [Bynum] has never played with a player like that," Jackson said. "Regardless of how Andrew comes back, he’s not going to start at 100%. He’s going to start somewhere where it’s going to be, ‘Is he in basketball condition now to play eight, 10 minutes, six minutes,’ whatever it is. [Los Angeles Times]